Unemployment benefits bill on Florida House agenda this week

HB 7005 goes before the Florida House this week. It is schedule for a reading on Wednesday, and then possibly again on Thursday before a vote.

Why should you care? HB 7005 changes Florida's unemployment compensation system. It cuts state benefits from 26 to 20, and as a result, as I reported separately today, Floridians will be eligible for fewer federal benefits as well.

The bill also would make it more difficult to get benefits. If you are laid off from a job in Florida and apply for benefits, you would have to undergo a skills review tests or risk losing your benefits. If after 19 weeks on benefits, a job comes along that pays at least minimum wage, you would have to take it or risk losing your benefits. Minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in Florida.

If passed, HB 7005 wouldn't affect the benefits of those currently unemployed and receiving state or federally extended benefits.

So why should you care? Ask the workers who have been laid off, found jobs, and then laid off again.

Florida has a long road to recovery, economists say. Our state won't see a "normal" unemployment rate of below 4 percent and a return of significant jobs until the spring of 2016.

Every state in the nation offers a 26-week maximum of state benefits. Should Florida cut benefits to help protect its employers from rising unemployment insurance?

Tell me what you think at mpounds@sunsentinel.com. Please include your name, city of residence, and best contact phone number.